I would definitely try to find a used one before buying new. You can get basically new models (or great vintage ones) for less than $10 at garage sales or thrift stores, and they work so much better than the new ones. Look for one that allows you to adjust the heat by vents, instead of temperature - those type are much easier to manage.

I make homemade beef jerky in mine all the time and it's saved me mucho dinero! Well worth the shelf space it takes up!

In Good Eats Season 11 Episode 6, "Withering Bites," AB details plans for a home-made dehydrator. It's brilliant, and a lot more effective IMO than the commercial models.

You'll find what you're looking for in scene 6, on the Good Eats Fan Page transcript and video page, here:
http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/season11/dried_fruit/witheringbites.htm

I could never find dried fruit or sundried tomatoes that didn't come with a "may contain traces of nuts" warning, so I bought one. It was worth the price alone for drying tomatoes. Love it.

I had one (received as a gift) and used it exactly once. It didn't work very well and clean up was a pain, at least for the model I had. I honestly can't remember if it's still lurking in my basement somewhere or if I finally sold it in a yard sale. Clearly not a top priority for me!

I wanted one for SO long- since I was a kid really. I finally got one and used it like mad...for about a day.

I found the fruit leather recipes were terrible I tried. And I tried a lot. All of them were no where near what I was expecting. I loved dried fruit and did lots of apples that way. Sucked to later find out dried banana chips are actually flash fried, so dehydrated chips are a little scary at home if thats what youre expecting.

I used mine most for beef jerky, which it makes fantastically. When it came time to move though, It took up a lot of real estate I didn't have, so it didn't make the trip. Bummer too, as I do occasionally miss it.

Yes, worth it. We got ours new and still only paid about $40 and use it all the time. Homemade beef jerky (Alton Brown's marinade is awesome) is great, but I've also done dried ginger (if your piece of ginger is going a little south, slice it up and dry it, you can keep it in slices or pulse it through a grinder to get ground ginger), dried orange and lemon slices for homemade air freshener, "sun"-dried cherry tomatoes, dried chili peppers, all sorts of stuff. It's also a great way to preserve what you've grown in your own garden.

It's not in constant rotation, but constant enough that it never gets put very far out of reach.

Don't get a unitasker. There are several convection toaster ovens out there that feature a dehydrate setting. Delonghi makes the one I use. It won't have as big a capacity as a dedicated dehydrator, but it's one less appliance to buy and store.

My parents have/had one years ago, and I think they made dried apples once. And that's it. I don't think we were impressed. They might still have it, and I'm kind of curious now to try beef jerky or some other things, but they might have sold it at a yard sale. I might go take a peek in their garage to see if it is around!

I used to have one, and all sorts of plans for making stuff. I hardly ever used it, the clean up was a huge ordeal and the food didn't even taste very good.

And I bet that you could probably dry most things in your oven on a low setting/with the door partially open. Like tomatoes, chile peppers...

It's definitely worth it if you have a garden/farm!

After the applesauce stash is overflowing, we slice and dry all of the apples that won't store. We also dry tomatoes (it's never sunny enough to do it outside...): just slice cherry tomatoes in half, pop them in, and you're good to go!

I've also dried small quantities of herbs for tea. It makes very little, but it does keep the dog hair off (unlike the usual method, which is hanging bunches from the ceiling over a sheet of newsprint).

I have the Excalibur model, and use it CONSTANTLY. In the summer I use it to dry fruits and veggies (it comes with a guide, many things need blanching), and in the winter I use it to keep my homemade yoghurt at a constant temp while the culture is growing. The dried stuff is great for my own soup mixes, backpacking meals, or last minute additions to oatmeal ('specially dried spinach or beet greens). The trick is to do research and experiment. Know what can be rehydrated well, and how long it takes. Know what is tasty dried!

I have one, but since moving into a smaller apartment, I am going to donate it.

It's huge and the biggest drawback is that it is incredibly noisy.

Couldn't manage all the mushrooms, fruits and veggies we forage and grow without one. We tried the Alton Brown DIY version at first but quickly realized the need for a dedicated dehydrator and picked one up at a garage sale for under $10. It's pretty much in constant use from the moment June strawberries appear and then all the way into deep fall.

The one feature I wish our model had, and I would happily upgrade for, is temperature control. Different foods have different moisture content and time is not the only factor in how nicely they dry so temp control would be nice.

I too love my dehydrator for all the many excellent reasons described by others, but I also don't think they're for everyone.

Think about this purchase in the same way you would a slow cooker. They take up a fair amount of space and don't necessarily get used very often. For me, a slow cooker is worth it to make bi-weekly batches of beans and yogurt, but others might not have the same value for those tasks.

Also, I tend to use my dehydrator more in the fall than summer because it adds heat to my home. Since you want to try this now for summer bounty, why not build your own solar dehydrator? Fun project for minimal cost! Doooooo it. And then tell us how it went.

I happen to be in the market for one now. Not sure I have the patience to wait for a garage sale score... perhaps I'll peruse craigslist today.

i have one and use it quite a bit but it is strictly for beef jerky.

Hey Emma,
I second what astutia said - it's definitely worth it if you have a garden/farm. I bought my first dehydrator 16 years ago after moving to the country and planting a 10,000 square foot garden. It paid for itself the first year in dried tomatoes alone - which you couldn't even find for sale here in rural Missouri, let alone organic and as wonderful tasting as homegrown.

A few years ago upgraded to a Nesco (I think the one you mention) and love it.

I've also dried pears (YUM) and used to dry a lot of herbs, though now I mainly use fresh most of the year round thanks to a homemade greenhouse. I know I've used it for other things (haven't tried jerky or fruit leather yet) but am blanking out. :)

One of the reasons I traded up was for the temperature control - definitely a plus. I don't find mine noisy at all, though I live on a farm with two roosters crowing 24/7, so my idea of quiet might not be everybody else's, LOL. And while it's not huge, it does take up some storage space.

Love mine! It had me at kale chips, but it's given me so much more.

I have the Excalibur and love it. I have several friends who live overseas and whenever they visit I always send them back with a huge bag of beef or turkey jerky, so much cheaper and better than store bought! I also dry apples, tomatoes, herbs, pineapple, pears, cherries, strawberries, all wonderful. I will try fruit and yogurt leathers when my 9-month old gets a little older. I tried fruit leather once and it didn't work, I think you have to tinker with recipes and equipment a bit.

I have also dried excess garden squash but wasn't sure what to do with it. I was hoping for delicious squash chips but got bland dry chewy squash instead. Hrm.

We have one. It was purchased to use for drying a huge batch of home grown peppers. It worked great but if you are doing hot peppers beware..it can get fragrant. And of course some things with great moisture content take longer than you expect so the thing is on constantly. Which kinda means you want to be around the house.
We use it yearly mostly in the fall when you just can't keep up with the herbs, peppers, etc the land is pumping out.

I need a remedial course in how to use one of these things. Mine's super basic (loud fan, no temperature control) and mostly lives in the attic. I wasn't happy with the tomatoes or the blueberries that I tried to dry in it.

I have the one shown above and I really like it. I don't use it super often, but I'm so glad to have it when I need it. I can, but when I still can't keep up with what we get in our farm share, I dry it. I just dried two trays of apriums. And I love to make fruit leather for hiking. Haven't tried jerky yet, but that's coming up. I also like drying all the herbs I get fresh and can't use up. This summer I'll be drying some of the abundant summer veggies I'll get to make soup mixes to give as gifts. And I dry things like shallots, red onion, and garlic to make dip mixes that are way better than store-bought.

Worth it? I don't know, but I sure like mine. I guess it just depends what you'll do with it.

We have a Nesco American Harvest model, and we love it. It helps us keep up with all the CSA fruits and veggies we get May through December- since we have a meat CSA, too, our freezer space is at a premium, and canning can be a miserable process (in our un-airconditioned kitchen!) in the summer.

I bought one of those thinking that I was a good mother who will feed my daughter home made dried fruits..of course it didn't turn out well...i followed the intruction carefully but all my fruits, after more than 12 hours of drying, were still 'wet'. I had to eventually threw out most of them...what a pity.
I have though made some fantatic beef jerky for me and for my husband..and friends...yumm...followed Alton Brown's recipe and came out fantastic!

I've got an inexpensive (~$50) dehydrator which spends much of its time on top of the cupboards in my small apartment. It earns its keep, however, during July/August/September when the garden really kicks in. I've dried everything from onions to carrots to peppers to tomatoes. Beef jerky is awesome, too (an "every-few-years" winter activity). I used to try using my oven to dry produce but found that, even on its lowest setting, it was sometimes a bit too hot--tomatoes would start to almost caramelize before they'd get dry enough to store. I got some plastic fine mesh tray inserts at Cabela's that help keep things like diced onions from falling through the not-so-fine spacing on the trays.

I love my dehydrators! I own a both a Nesco Garden Master and a Snack Master. They replaced my Excaliber model that I used for years. I usually prep and dry seasonal fruits and vegetables, jerky, granola, leftovers, and flowers. For me, using a dehydrator is considerably easier and faster than canning or freezing. If you can obtain bulk frozen fruits and vegetables very cheaply, they can be dehydrated without a blanching step and allow you to use limited freezer space for other products. My advice is to avoid the cheap plastic dehydrators; they tend to be highly inefficient at removing moisture which can lead to unintended food spoilage.

For those of you who have had mediocre luck with dehydrating, one problem is often the type of dehydrator. The ones with a fan on the bottom or top (round style) dry food unevenly because the air flow is blocked at each layer. Another problem is temperature. If your heat level is set too high the outside will dry out before the inside does - leaving the inside moisture trapped - which will lead to spoilage. Here's a website with EXCELLENT tips on dehydrating as well as information on drying many types of fruit and veg: http://www.dehydrate2store.com/ Check our her tips section for lists of which foods need to be blanched or otherwise prepped before dehydrating. I love the idea of drying veggies for soup mix which I could give as gifts.

In terms of getting things to dry, it also helps to cut things evenly so they dry at the same rate- a mandolin or food processor + slicing disc attachment helps.

They are totally worth it! You can make dried banana chips, sugared ginger bites etc. Not to mention some rockin trail mix.